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NEW REEF: Work may begin by February on Opunake's $1.1m artificial surf reef, which will be inside the headland pictured. The Daily News

Surf reef decision has Opunake buzzing at tourism prospects

The South Taranaki District Council's decision to fund the reef project, which most residents of the revitalised coastal town expect to become a major tourist attraction, was the main topic of conversation, said surf board manufacturer Craig Dingle.

"Everyone is talking about it, it will be a huge boost for the town," he said.

Mr Dingle said he expected the reef would create a focus that would bring even more surfers and tourists into the district.

He said the decision would give confidence to businesses being developed to cater for a growing number of visitors.

Surf Inn proprietor Phil Brown said the news was excellent and had brought a real "feel good" feeling to everyone he had spoken to.

"We always knew it would go, somehow and sometime, but this is what we have all been waiting for," he said.

Opunake Artificial Reef Committee chairman David Lusk said the reef plan had already attracted considerable international attention and had made it on to the pages of world-wide surfing magazines.

"People at a recent symposium were asking Kerry (Dr Kerry Black, the reef's designer) where is this Opunake and how do you get there," he said.

Mr Lusk said installation of the reef would be dictated by the time taken to achieve consents, the tender process and weather conditions, but could possibly begin in February.

The reef would be made of sand filled geotextile bags standing between 1.5-2 metres high and covering an area around 90m long and 20m wide.

A slight hook in the shape of the reef would create the wave curl, and contouring of the reef with a slope on the inside allowed the wave to disperse. The reef would be under water at all times, he said.

"There have been all sorts of stories about the bags but the material is nothing like plastic bags, more like a piece of carpet 12-14mm thick,"

The fawn-coloured textured surface of the bags allows sand and marine growth to adhere to them.

Mr Lusk said although the process would be determined by the contractor, it was expected divers would anchor the bags in place. The bags would be filled with sand pumped as a slurry from a stockpile on shore.

"Depending on weather conditions and the preparation work being done it could take about two months to install," he said.

He said hollow concrete "reef balls" which could be manufactured cheaply and locally, could be installed in the calmer water inside the reef to benefit marine life.